With the rapid adoption of USB flash drives as a convenient and portable way to store and transport data, technology geeks and users have found the need for a secure and reliable way to protect their USB drive data.
It’s really easy to misplace your USB drive (it does happen) or what about the worse case scenario and your USB drive is stolen?
Without any encryption or other password protection built into the USB drive, your data is left wide open to theft.
The nice people over at IronKey have spent a ton of sleepless nights and a pile of money to address these security and reliability concerns.
They have developed the IronKey USB flash drive – what they call “the world’s most secure USB flash drive”:
The IronKey 4 GB USB flash drive raises the bar and sets the standard for security in USB drives.
The designers behind the IronKey clearly had in mind the goal of delivering the most robust security available and the final product shows just how well this has been achieved.
I spent many weeks researching secure portable storage media before deciding on the IronKey. I found that no other USB drive on the market compared in terms of providing this level of data security.
Here are a few of the IronKey features that helped in my decision to choose this product:
- Fast 30MBPS Read, 20MBPS Write
- Drive contents encrypted with AES CBC-Mode Encryption
- Onboard IronKey Password-manager keeps all your internet passwords safe
- Secure version of Firefox included that encrypts all your web-surfing traffic
- Encased in a potted metal case, not plastic, making it one of the strongest USB keys around
- Exceeds MIL-STD-810F military waterproofing standards
- The encryption chip self-destructs if an invasive attack is detected
- If your Ironkey is lost, you can restore from a secure backup to a new Ironkey in minutes
- Dual channel SLC NAND Flash for high-quality and read/write speeds
- Windows XP and Windows Vista only, but Mac and Linux drivers are in development
With the ability to surf privately, provide secure online authentication, withstand being dropped, be submersion in water and solid read and write performance, the IronKey offers features not found on any other USB drive on the market.
Any Geek with Laptop or technology professional who places high value on protecting their privacy and their data will be extremely happy with the IronKey as will anyone who wants a completely dependable portable storage device.
Can you put a price on data security?
At a retail price of $149.00 USD for the 4 GB version (the model I use), $109.00 USD for the 2 GB version and $79.00 USD for the 1 GB version, the IronKey team says you can.
Keep in mind that the 4 GB model sells out quickly and in recent weeks has been on backorder with various geek distributors.
You can purchase IronKey from Think Geek or order it directly from the IronKey secure online store.
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I for one say that banks should buy these… incredible amount of security. I am especially impressed with the self destruct feature.
Ironkey is one option but dont fall for the marketing hype. Yes they do have great read/write speeds and are the waterproof factor is popular among scuba divers… (dont plug your wet device into any of my electrical USB ports please)
Ironkey provide only AES128 encryption which means data must be reported as lost after 7 days cos that how long it takes to hack. AES 256 is a different story.
Why self destruct the key… surely the only reason to do that is if the encryption was not strong enough??!!
Restoring your device? Does that mean you trust a third party, its company amd employees with your sensitive data and passwords?
I may be sounding a little harsh but I think that you wil find better devices which will certainly be better suited to enterprise level deployment. There are 2 companies providing central management software, 1 of which has a secure id and key storage, and the power to carry portable applications. I think it even has a biometric reader.
And what about Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS??
Ali, the reason for the self destruct feature is because all encryption has the same weak point. Brute force attack, and people using weak passwords.
So you can use truecrypt, or any other software, but you can then set a program at it to try millions of passwords.
With IronKey, you only get 10 guesses, so can use a fairly week password and know the bad guys wont get at your data. It is a great invention, that the UK government should use for all it’s storage.